Research and analysis

West Midlands Combined Authority Readiness Check: Summary

Published 8 April 2025

Applies to England

Summary of findings

The readiness check finds that ^{[footnote 1]}, across the four thematic readiness criteria, WMCA are either meeting core expectations for Integrated Settlement readiness or on a trajectory to do so:

• Strategy, planning and governance – core expectations for Integrated Settlement readiness are being met. WMCA has taken a highly collaborative approach to developing a strategic vision for the Integrated Settlement, through commissioning place-based strategies from each constituent authority that sit alongside a set of functional strategies. The governance structure and escalations are well defined, and core risk management and assurance processes are robust.
• People and capability – core expectations for Integrated Settlement readiness are being met. WMCA has used its programme to prepare for the Integrated Settlement to establish strong ways of working across teams. The planned corporate transformation programme will build on this. WMCA is expanding existing business partnering which will be an important enabler of the Integrated Settlement.
• Financial and performance management – core expectations for Integrated Settlement readiness are being met. Budgeting and forecasting processes are clearly defined and embedded, ensuring robust financial discipline and accountability. Grant and contract management processes are not consistently applied; two internal reviews have provided recommendations which are being addressed.
• Reporting and evaluation – some core expectations for Integrated Settlement readiness are being met. There is a robust approach to reporting both internally and externally to MHCLG and other funders. WMCA recognises the shift required to move from an approach that manages outputs to meet existing funding requirements, to a focus on outcomes under the Integrated Settlement, including a consistent process for owning and tracking benefits. WMCA is also developing its in-house evaluation capability.

More broadly, the review has identified the following key strengths of WMCA in the context of its readiness for the integrated settlement:

• WMCA has strong organisational foundations, including a well-defined governance structure, robust financial processes and having invested in developing the strategic vision for the integrated settlement with its constituent authorities.
• WMCA has proactively strengthened its capabilities and ways of working in key areas, including programme management, internal audit and evaluation, demonstrating its commitment to successful integrated settlement delivery.
• WMCA benefits from a collaborative and supportive environment, with strong leadership, engaged staff, and effective partnerships with LAs and other local partners, and with central government.

Recommendations

Strategy, planning and governance

• Recommendation 1: as WMCA assumes greater powers and autonomy and continues to develop in the context of the planned corporate transformation programme, business planning should evolve to become an active, ongoing process rather an annual moment”, with appropriate in-year review and adjustment to account for changes in context, ensuring continuous alignment of activity/resources with strategic priorities. (Stretch opportunity)

• Recommendation 2:WMCA should define thresholds for escalating non-financial decisions (for example, based on risk) from Board sub-committees to the Board. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 3: WMCA should ensure there is consistent formal tracking of and reporting on progress against previous decisions made in governance forums, to strengthen accountability for follow up. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 4: WMCA should consider training and communication to programme managers to promote consistent completion of project/programme risk registers and parameters for escalating risks to portfolio and enterprise levels. WMCA’s Risk Awareness Month in May and planned additional risk capacity will support roll out. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 5: risk reporting should be developed to provide a more holistic view of risks across the organisation, highlighting interdependencies and potential aggregation effects. The enterprise risk management approach agreed by the Board will support this. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 6: WMCA should develop more nuanced risk appetite statements specifically addressing the unique challenges and opportunities presented by the Integrated Settlement and ensure these statements are reviewed regularly. (Stretch opportunity)

• Recommendation 7: training should be established on how to apply the roles and responsibilities within each line of defence, building on examples such as Green Book training provided to programme assurance professionals. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 8: the spending controls framework in development should explicitly include controls around the use of the new Integrated Settlement funding flexibilities (aligned to the new process being developed for managing these flexibilities). (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 9: the Single Assurance Framework (SAF) or Risk Management Framework (which sets out the “Three Lines of Defence”) should be updated to address the specific risks and controls associated with the Integrated Settlement (for example, relating to funding flexibilities). (Urgent)

People and capability

• Recommendation 10: through the corporate transformation programme WMCA should develop a plan for an ongoing central programme management capability, building on the programme management function developed for the Integrated Settlement readiness programme. This capability should include strategic oversight and alignment of the Integrated Settlement portfolio and ensuring the right relationships and accountabilities are in place with other corporate functions and the business. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 11: the strategic resource plan that will be developed through the corporate transformation programme should align available and planned resource to delivery at a thematic and functional level, accounting for expected attrition levels. This should include specific contingent resource allocation strategies and how the matrix management framework will be operationalised. (Year 1 priority)

Financial and performance management

• Recommendation 12: to reduce the number of manual inputs, multi-year forecasts should be captured on the finance system, although this is subject to implementation of a financial planning and analysis module. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 13: alongside the ongoing ‘Grants in an Integrated Settlement world’ work, WMCA should define and communicate the roles and responsibilities of budget holders, Senior Responsible Owners and contract managers for grant/contract management, including how (under)performance and changes in requirements are managed. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 14: to enable proper and controlled use of the Integrated Settlement funding flexibilities, the process being developed to manage these should define the governance structure and individual decision-making roles and responsibilities. In line with current plans, the process should be agreed and in place for commencement of the Integrated Settlement. In line with current plans, the process should be agreed and in place for commencement of the Integrated Settlement. The separate spending controls framework in development should reference this process (see recommendation 8.) (Urgent)

• Recommendation 15: WMCA should establish phasing of programmes into manageable phases with defined gateways / review points and portfolio oversight of these reviews. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 16: while reporting is generally of high quality, it should continue to develop in line with the shift toward a greater focus on managing outcomes (see Recommendation 18). Consistent inclusion of proposed actions and recommendations will also enhance the usefulness of reporting to decision makers. (Year 1 priority)

Reporting and evaluation

• Recommendation 17: a more comprehensive approach is needed to ensure robust benefit and outcome tracking. This should build on work in train and is likely to include some or all of the following:

  1. Defining a high-level process to monitor and track outcomes ahead of April 2025.
  2. Preparing tools and templates aligned with the MHCLG outcomes framework for tracking benefits from the outset of delivery.
  3. Leveraging existing logic models, data sets (for example, the Skills team’s ILR system), and stakeholder input to build a more integrated benefits and outcomes model over time.
  4. Develop proportionate tools and templates aligned with the anticipated MHCLG outcomes framework to ensure a smoother transition and reporting consistency. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 18: WMCA should define target measurements and assigned owners for benefits across all Integrated Settlement programmes and foster a culture that values evidence-based impact measurement through training, data-driven decision making and celebrating success. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 19: WMCA should continue to review, revise where necessary and embed the existing evaluation framework, including robust evaluation plans in place for all projects at the outset and consistent evaluation of impacts and capture of lessons learned, supported by strengthened in-house evaluation capability. (Year 1 priority)

• Recommendation 20: to ensure core expectations are met consistently, and building on existing work underway, WMCA should formalise data management principles, supported by comprehensive data quality control procedures and clear roles and responsibilities across all data domains. (Year 1 priority)

1. This summary of findings has been extracted from the readiness check report prepared by Deloitte LLP for MHCLG and WMCA (together the “Recipients”).  Deloitte LLP has no responsibility to anyone except for the Recipients relating to the report.  The full report was prepared for the use of the Recipients on the terms of Deloitte LLP’s contract with MHCLG. ↩